Sky & Telescope - USA (2019-09)

skyandtelescope.com • SEPTEMBER 2019 27

command that were harder. For more than a decade, the day-

to-day lives of these scientists had revolved around Oppor-

tunity. Every morning they would check the status of the

vehicle, plan rover operations, and prepare the commands.

“You really do start to feel a connection to something that’s

more than just a machine when you spend 15 years of your

life making sure Opportunity is healthy, making sure her

power is okay, making sure all the commands you’re sending

are good,” Fraeman says.

Now, the team’s daily activities have shifted. “We come

into work now and it’s like, ‘What do we do?’” Callas says.

“It’s dramatic change.”

Seibert, who had a head start on mourning because he left

in 2017, points out that the new daily routine likely won’t

include the adrenaline rush that often came with working

on the rovers. “You don’t have that little dopamine hit you

get when every image comes down and shows whatever you

In that moment, the team was forced to accept the inevi-

table. They were forced to say goodbye.

More than Machine

For those who see space-faring robots as gadgets of scientifi c

discovery and nothing more, it may sound strange that so

many considered the rover something analogous to a friend.

Even the most calculated scientists tend to anthropomorphize

Opportunity — better known as “Oppy” — and her twin,

Spirit. And it’s easy to see why from merely a design stand-

point: They were each about fi ve feet tall and outfi tted with

a robotic arm and a neck topped with two eye-like science

cameras, all eerily sentient-looking.

But Callas notes that not only did the rovers appear

human, they had human-like qualities. “They were intrepid,

they were dutiful, they were accomplished,” he says. “Some-

times they were recalcitrant. Sometimes they were funny.

They were loyal. How could you not fall in love with them?”

And fall in love many of us did. Not only did the fi nal

command leave the rover team wistful, but it also inspired an

outpouring of affection from much of the world. Opportu-

nity trended on Twitter for days as scientists and non-scien-

tists alike shared stories of the rover’s impact on them. Even

former President Barack Obama posted a photo of the rover’s

tracks to Instagram and congratulated the team.

But for many, it was

the days after the fi nal

“Sometimes they were recalcitrant.

Sometimes they were funny. They were

loyal. How could you not fall in love with

them?” —JOHN CALLAS

Eagle

Crater Endurance Crater

Victoria Crater

Santa Maria Crater

Endeavour

Crater

Perseverance

Valley

Marathon

Valley

5 km

TH

E^ T

RE

K:^

MA

P:^

NA

SA

/^ J

PL

• CA

LTE

CH

/^ M

SS

S;^
GL

OB

E:^
NA

SA

/^ C

OR

NE

LL
/^ S

SI^

/^ S

TS
CI^

/^ A

UR

A;^

INS

ET

S:^

EA

GL

E,^

EN

DU

RA

NC

E,^

AN

D^ V

ICT

OR

IA:

NA

SA

/^ J

PL-

CA

LT

EC

H^ /

CO

RN

EL

L^ (

3 ),

SA

NT

A^ M

AR

IA:

NA

SA

/^ J

PL

• CA

LTE

CH

/^ C

OR

NE

LL

/^ A

SU

,^ M

AR

AT

HO

N^ V

AL

LE

Y:^

NA

SA

/^ J

PL-

CA

LT

EC

H;^

BA

CK

GR

OU

ND

MA

RS

TE

RR

AIN

TE

XT

UR

E:^

NA

SA

/^ J

PL

• C
  AL
  TE
  CH

/^ U

NIV

.^ O

F^ A

RIZ

ON

A

Marathon Valley